Families mourn fallen workers

THE ISSUE: Workplace deaths in Massachusetts hit a 10-year high in 2016.

WHAT'S NEXT: Some worker advocates are calling for reforms to increase penalties for safety violations.

Gerry Tuoti Wicked Local Newsbank Editor

With job-related deaths hitting a 10-year high, families of fallen workers gathered Friday in front of the Statehouse to mourn their losses, search for answers and call for reforms.

“All these things are preventable,” Attorney General Maura Healey told the crowd that gathered for the annual Workers’ Memorial Day. “If people do the right thing, if they respect the dignity of work and the workers who show up every day, these things don’t happen.”

In 2016, 70 Massachusetts workers died from injuries or illnesses suffered on the job, the most of any year in the past decade, according to an April 27 report from MassCOSH, the Massachusetts Coalition for Occupational Safety and Health. The total includes eight firefighters who died from job-related illness and 62 workers who suffered fatal injuries.

Brockton resident Kelvin “Chuck” Mattocks and Rhode Island resident Robert Higgins were killed on Oct. 21 in Boston, when a construction trench they were working in collapsed and flooded.

When Mattocks died, the family lost its “heartbeat” and “unsung hero,” his sister, Melinda Mattocks said.

“He was a wonderful husband, son, father, grandfather and cousin to all. He died doing what he loved to do: work,” she said from the podium. “His legacy and love will forever be remembered.”

Their employer, Atlantic Drain Services of Roslindale, is facing criminal manslaughter charges and $1.4 million in OSHA fines. Suffolk County District Attorney Dan Conley’s office alleges the firm forged employees’ signatures on forms certifying they received safety training.

Following the deaths of Mattocks and Higgins, the Boston City Council passed an ordinance requiring firms to report their safety records before receiving construction permits. A similar proposal was introduced in the state Legislature earlier this year.

As in other years, Massachusetts worker deaths in 2016 were heavily concentrated in the construction industry, which accounted for nearly 40 percent of workplace fatalities.

Another one of those victims is Jason Sanderson, 28, of Carver, who left behind a wife and three young children, including 18-month-old twins.

Sanderson was cutting a water pipe at a Duxbury job site on Nov. 19 when his saw kicked back into his neck, killing him.

When he released the trigger, the saw blade kept spinning, said his mother, Michele Mather.

“I still can’t believe it happened,” Mather said in an interview Friday. “It shouldn’t have happened. I believe it was a freak accident caused by faulty equipment.”

Mather wants to see reforms enacted to require stringent checks of all equipment used by contractors and subcontractors.

“These kids have lost their father and will never know their father,” she said. “I feel someone should be held accountable.”

MassCOSH board member Melissa King lost her father, Paul King, in 2005. A maintenance subcontractor doing work for JetBlue, the Medford native was electrocuted 12 years ago in an accident at Logan International Airport..

“We need to realize these aren’t just workers you see from 9-5,” King said in an interview after Friday’s ceremony. “These are people with families. It’s a truly awful feeling to see a loved one leave in the morning and know they may not come home at night.”

Transportation-related accidents, including car crashes, were the leading cause of work-related deaths in 2016, contributing to 41 percent of all worker deaths in Massachusetts. Falls, slips and trips accounted for 28 percent of worker deaths. Other causes of death include contact with objects or equipment, exposure to harmful substances and workplace violence.

The number of statewide work-related deaths has increased each year since 2012, when there were 32 fatalities. Since then the rate of workplace fatalities has doubled to two deaths per 100,000 workers.

“We should not be going backwards, brothers and sisters,” AFL-CIO President Steve Tolman told the crowd Friday.

MassCOSH Executive Director Jodi Sugerman-Brozan said an increasing reliance on subcontractors and temporary laborers, who often aren’t subject to strict safety oversights, are contributing factors.

“I think another thing is immigrant workers are feeling less secure in speaking up when they see a problem,” she said in an interview.

Those in attendance at the ceremony advocated for reforms, including increased penalties for employers who violate safety standards.

Current penalties, Sugerman-Brozan said, are too low to be a deterrent. Many employers, she said, cut corners to save money and time, and view current penalties as a cost of doing business.

State Sen. Jennifer Flanagan, D-Leominster, has also introduced legislation to increase the fine for corporations convicted of manslaughter from $1,000 to $250,000. Under the proposal, the state could debar those corporations for up to 10 years.

The corporate manslaughter penalty hasn’t been increased in nearly 20 years.

“For far too long in Massachusetts, corporations involved in terrible tragedies have gotten away with a slap on the wrist,” Healey said.

The attorney general said she hopes to see reforms that “send a message” to employers that safety is paramount.

“If you can’t protect your workers, you cannot do business in Massachusetts,” she said. “It’s as simple as that.”

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